This article deals with empty spacetime and the question of its physical reality. By “empty spacetime” we mean a collection of bare spacetime points, the remains of ridding spacetime of all matter and fields. We ask whether these geometric objects—themselves intrinsic to the concept of field—might be observable through some physical test. By taking quantum-mechanical notions into account, we challenge the negative conclusion drawn from the diffeomorphism invariance postulate of general relativity, and we propose new foundational ideas regarding the possible (...) observation—as well as conceptual overthrow—of this geometric ether. (shrink)

The relevance of the Planck scale to a theory of quantum gravity has become a worryingly little examined assumption that goes unchallenged in the majority of research in this area. However, in all scientific honesty, the significance of Planck’s natural units in a future physical theory of spacetime is only a plausible, yet by no means certain, assumption. The purpose of this article is to clearly separate fact from belief in this connection.

South Africa shared with the world the warning of a new strain of SARS-CoV2, Omicron, in November 2021. As a result, many high-income countries (HICs) instituted complete travel bans on persons leaving South Africa and other neighbouring countries. These bans were unnecessary from a scientific standpoint, and they ran counter to the International Health Regulations. In short, South Africa was penalized for sharing data. Data sharing during pandemics is commonly justified by appeals to solidarity. In this paper, we argue that (...) solidarity is, at best, an aspirational ideal to work toward but that it cannot ground an obligation to share data. Instead, low-and-middle income countries (LIMCs) should be guided by the principle of reciprocity, which states that we ought to return good for good received. Reciprocity is necessarily a conditional principle. LMICs, we argue, should only share data during future pandemics on the condition that HICs provide enforceable assurances that the benefits of data sharing will be equitably distributed and that LMICs won’t be penalized for sharing information. (shrink)

It is generally agreed that one of the key differences between ancient skepticism and modern and contemporary skepticism is that the ancient skeptic does not call into question the existence of the external world, but only our ability to know the properties or qualities of external objects. In this paper, I argue that in Sextus Empiricus's attack on the Epicurean criterion of truth one finds evidence that the ancient Pyrrhonist also suspends judgment about the existence of external objects.

En este conciso estudio se explicará la concepción de la luz que encontramos en Francisco Suárez. Si bien distinta, y por cierto distante, de las teorías modernas (corpuscular y ondulatoria), encontramos en Suárez un corpus de principios, de base y raigambre aristotélica, que dan cuenta de una mecánica del todo exótica para nuestra men- talidad, pero abundante y enriquecida en contenido lógico y filosófico: la filosofía natural de Francisco Suárez está basada, en términos generales, en los conceptos de virtud, necesidad, (...) esfera de acción y energía en el sentido originario de esta palabra. Para sorpresa del lector mínimamente aficionado a estos temas, encontraremos en la física de Suárez explicaciones por momentos mucho más naturales, más claras y más satisfactorias sobre la propagación de la luz y sobre la acción a distancia de lo que han propuesto hasta hoy las teorías en vigencia. Francisco Suárez, desde ya, queda excluido del proyecto de Galileo y de Francis Bacon; no ofrece ni persigue resultados mate- máticos, sino un conocimiento ontológico del Universo y una interesante mecánica esencialista. (shrink)

Estudio preliminar. I. La era de Darwin. II. Las coordenadas españolas de la polémica darwinista. III. Algunos datos sobre la introducción del darwinismo en España. IV. Breve historia de la controversia ideológica. V. Implicaciones filosóficas e ideológicas del darwinismo. Nota sobre los textos. ANTOLOGÍA DE TEXTOS. I. Un debate largo y virulento. I.1. Defensores. I.2. Adversarios. I.3. Posturas conciliadoras. II. Tres acontecimientos polémicos. II.1. El drawinismo en Granada. II.2. El I Congreso Católico Español. II.3. El cementerio del nacimiento de Darwin. (...) III. Darwinismo social. IV. Darwinismo y socialismo. IV.1. Anarquismo. IV.2. Socialismo marxista. V. La muerte de Darwin en la Prensa. V.1. Prensa católico-tradicional. V.2. Prensa liberal. V.3. Prensa obrera. Bibliografía y cronología del darwinismo en España [1859-1900]. (shrink)

Scholarship on ancient Pyrrhonism has made tremendous advances over the past three decades, thanks especially to the careful reexamination of Sextus Empiricus’ extant corpus. Building on this momentum, the authors of the eight essays collected here examine some of the most vexed and intriguing exegetical and philosophical questions posed by Sextus’ presentation of this form of skepticism. The essays explore in a new light the skeptical interpretation of Plato, the differences between Pyrrhonism and Cyrenaicism, the Pyrrhonist’s stance on ordinary life, (...) religion, language, and ethics, Sextus’ discussion of our access to our own mental states, and the relationship between Pyrrhonism and epistemic internalism and externalism. These new essays represent a substantial contribution to the advancement of scholarship on Pyrrhonian skepticism. (shrink)

Esse texto propõe a hipótese da “máquina s’imaginante” como sendo o constructo fundamental da teoria da imaginação de Spinoza e pretende justificar certa leitura que permita tal denominação. Para tanto, parte-se da noção de _contemplari externè_ para, em seguida, explanar a noção interpretativa de _simul desconcertante_, a qual desempenha importante papel a fim de forjar a noção de _centramento em si_, noção que permite captar os efeitos de interioridade e exterioridade relativas ao indivíduo humano e cujo engendramento faz a natureza (...) das coisas ser apreendida teleologicamente. A partir do _centramento em si _são examinadas e interpretadas categorias relevantes da imaginação, sendo a mais importante delas a _concatenatio_. Por fim, são indicados alguns desdobramentos da hipótese de leitura proposta. (shrink)

The Pyrrhonian skeptic’s stance, as described by Sextus Empiricus, is in good part defined by his suspending judgment or belief about all the matters he has so far investigated. Most interpreters of Pyrrhonism maintain that it is a mistake to understand this form of skepticism in terms of doubt because suspension as conceived of by the Pyrrhonist is markedly different from the state of doubt. In this article, I expound the reasons that have been offered in support of that prevailing (...) view and assess their strength. (shrink)

Several scholars familiar with Sextus Empiricus’s Pyrrhonism who have attentively read his Against the Ethicists have gotten the impression that something strange is going on in this book. For, at variance with the ‘official’ Pyrrhonian attitude of universal suspension of judgment, a number of passages of Against the Ethicists seem to ascribe to the Pyrrhonist both a type of negative dogmatism and a form of realism, which together amount to what may be called ‘moderate ethical realism’. The purpose of this (...) paper is to determine whether Sextus does embrace such a position in Against the Ethicists. (shrink)

As an instrument for participatory technology development, Scenario-Based Design offers significant potential for an early inclusion of future users. Over the course of a 3-year research project, this method was examined as a procedure for participatory technology development. Methods and instruments aimed at achieving a potential user’s participation, and the resulting cooperation of heterogeneous social groups can be seen as translation tools. Their purpose is to act as translators between different social fields and the specific knowledge associated with them. These (...) translation capabilities and participatory methods should result in the best possible convergence of different orientations and purposes. In this paper, attempting to achieve the best possible convergence is described as a dilemma of alignment. Several approaches will be used to describe the dynamic of the alignment dilemma within the above-mentioned project. The reconstruction follows one question that is proposed as a heuristic pattern to meet the requirements of an accurate analysis of holistic participatory methods: Who or what has to adjust to whom or what, why, when, and in which way? The main conclusions include the finding that the alignment dilemma is not equally balanced, that the agency of epistemic objects within the process has to be captured, and that it is easy for translation—provided primarily by core instruments of the participatory method used—to begin to overwrite the needs and purposes of one social group with the interests and orientations of another. (shrink)

Justice is about political ideals on how to accommodate differences that are natural among basically heterogeneous human beings. In many ways, justice is remarkably complicated because of the alleged conflict between the demands of equality and the concern that people should have as much liberty available. The author argues in this essay that the ideal of equality and liberty can be reconciled into the liberal ideal of fairness. This compromise view accounts as a justification for coercive institutions and obligations and (...) a tenable basis for a practical definition of rights and justice in general. The author does this by going through the philosophical presuppositions of the different theories of justice. His examination focuses on rendering analytic clarity to the ideal of equality, liberty, and the value of community. (shrink)

This book concerns the soul/body problem in Plato and Aristotle. Established as well as early career scholars actually working on Plato and Aristotle explore - under different points of view as well as through original readings and interpretations - the manifold dimensions involved in the conception of the soul/body relation articulated by the two greatest founders of Western Thought. The book starts with an exploration of the relation between cause and matter in Plato and Aristotle, then some papers on Plato's (...) theory of soul and body are presented, which involve new advancements in the research about Platonic epistemology, moral and political theory, metaphysics of mind, even about his religious and 'theological' view. Some papers on Aristotle's model follow, which are focused on his so-called "hylomorphism" as an alternative view to Plato's alleged "dualism": the ontology of the soul/body relation in Aristotle is explored, as well as the implications of this theoretical framework for his theory of knowledge, his moral theory, his cognitive psychology. Finally, two papers critically assess the philosophical connections between Aristotle's hylomorphism and its modern and contemporary Wirkungsgeschichte. (shrink)

Cet article analyse la relation entre l’idéal de citoyenneté athénienne et la masculinité (andreía), à partir de la figure des Tyrannicides. En opposition aux lectures “modernisantes” – influencées par Thucydide – de ceux qui voient dans le tyrannicide un acte guidé par une passion amoureuse à caractère “privé”, l’idée avancée ici est que l’éros qui unissait Harmodios et Aristogiton n’était pas occulté dans le récit officiel de la démocratie. L’analyse de l’imagerie des Tyrannicides permet de comprendre l’importance des relations érotiques (...) au niveau idéologique – particulièrement celles de type homosexuel (désignées par le terme de pédérastie) – pour le maintien de la concorde civique et la reproduction du groupe des citoyens. (shrink)